Ball forming machine



Dec. 13, 932, A C, MUNRQ Y 1,890,693

BALLv FORMING` MACHINE Filed Jan. 9, 1930 IN l EN TOR.

' ATNEYS stock; ior examp eused railroad rails or 20 is formed in t e standard 5 leading to a im forming operation in such manner that the lutions about the m The accompanying drawing illustrates the gressive formation of the balls. At a certain 79' UNITED STATES Pa'riau'r oFF/icl:

TDEB C2.4 HUNBO, F BBITAINNIA BEACH, BRITISH COLUMBIA, GANAA BALL FORMING MACHINE l Application med January 0, 1830. Serial No. 419,818.

This invention relates to improvements in and guide means 19 are provided extending machines for forming balls or bodies of apbetween the standards and 6 and secured proximately spherical form and consisting thereto so as to guide the stock or work in of steel or similar material. Such balls are its passage between the rolls, these guide 5 extensively used at the present time, for exmeans 19 extending in the reentrant angle ample in crushing mills, and the purpose of between the roll surfaces at each side of the the present invention is to provide improved axis of the machine, which is also the axis means for foi-min such balls from suitable of the feed passa e 16. A delivery passage i other Steel mil or bmmateriaL- discharge chute 21 for delivering the formed C3 l The main object of the present invention is balls to an suitable receiving means. to provide a machine which is adapted to Each ro l, 1 and 2, is formed with a helical form the balls by a rolling operation and to llb or flange extending from end to end therel out oi the balls at the proper stage in .the of said rib forminga series of spaced convoy ody of the roll. In the C5 ySeverin of the balls is performed sharply initial portion of each roll, this rib, as indij and dennitely, thereby increasing the eiiciencated at 22, is of radually increasing height, cy of the operation and improving the form So as to provide o gradual intrusion of the and finish of the balls. rlb into the material of the stock for proimprovement of my invention and relating portion thereof, for example, at about midthereto; length of the roll this rib is provided on one Fig. lisa side elevation of the machine o f said convolutions with an enlarged porpartly in section. tlon 23 or projection extending around the Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the machine. roll through a minor portion of its circum- Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 in Fig. 1. ference acting as a cut-off or knife for sud- Fig. 4 is ay transverse section of the forming denly severing the formed ball. This knife rolls at the cut-off point. portion may be formed on or secured to the The machine comprises an upper rollI l flan e or rib in any suitable manner, for ex- 39 and a lower roll 2 mounted respectively on amp eby welding it onto the ange. The S9 shafts 3 and 4 journalled in suitable bearflange or rib portion 24 succeeding the knife ings 5 and 6 on standards 7 and 8 in the usual portion 23 may be of uniform height as manner of machines of this kind, the bearings shown, or if desired, may be varied in height being mounted, for example, in guideways in iii any suitable manner, the function of these v 35 said standards and adjusted by shims 9 'and flange portions being to finish and smooth the s" screw so .as to'provide for'adjustmentof ball and deliver it to the delivery means 20. the distance apart of the rolls and for firm The flange or rib portions 24 are shown as support of the rolls during the formingopincreasing in pitch toward the delivery end, eration. y vbut the said iian e or rib portions 24 may, if

Suitable means are provided for driving desired, be of uniform pitch. 90 the rolls 1 and 2, for example, a driving gear The lateral guides 19 are preferably pro- 12 carried by a driving shaft 18, mounted .in vided with notches indicated at 25 at a pora. fixed bearing and engaging gear wheels 14 tion thereof which is opposite the knife porek and 15 respectively on the shafts 3 and 4 of tions on the ribs so that as .the rolls rotate the rolls 1 and 2, so as to operate said rolls the said knife portions will traverse said in the same rotative direction and at subnotches in the guide means 19. Y I stantially the same rotative velocity. In the operation of the machine the stock,

A guide passage or feed opening 16 is proindicated at 18 is fed forwardly through the go "vided in standard 8 for guiding the stock inpassage 16 into the space betvveen the rolls and dicated at 18 into position between the rolls, is then sub]ected to a forming operation be- 100 tween the adjacent faces of the rolls. By reason of the rotation of the rolls in the same rotative direction theseadjacent faces of the rolls move in opposite linear directions with 5 the result thabthere is relatively little, if any, lateral force exerted on the stock; but "the flanges or ribs tend to score or groove the stock on opposite sides and to rotate the stock y so as to cause circumferential grooves to be formed in the stock, the spacing of the grooves corresponding to the spacing of the ribs on the rolls and the grooves being pr0-` Agressively deepened as the stock is fed for- Wardly by the rolls, this feeding operation being also effected by the helical flanges or ribs. When the Work reaches the portion of the rolls occupied by the knife means 23, it is suddenly and completely severed by the operation of said knife means. I have found that when it is attempted to twist and cut olf the balls without the use of such knife means, the wear on the ribs is excessive apparently by reason of the increasing greater peripheral diameter of the ribs which causes the ball-v stock-to be twisted unduly before being severed, and the provision of theknife means avoids this difliculty. After leaving the knife means the balls are finished in the groove portions o'f the rolls -at the delivery end thereof, so as to smooth and finish the ball, the ball being finally delivered to the delivery means t I claim: I

In a ball forming machine, a pair of rolls having parallel axes, means for driving each roll in the same rotative direction, each roll having a helical rib formed thereon and increasing gradually in depth from one end of the respective roll toward the other end there- 40 of, said rib forming a series of spaced convolutions about the body of the roll, one convolution on each roll having a projection eX- tendin around the roll through a minor portion o its circumference, the projections of the two rolls being arranged to oppose each other once during each revolution of the rolls.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 20th day of Dec., 1929.

.ALEXANDER C. MUNRO. 

